Tikkun Global
Jerusalem, Israel
The Middle East has undergone another lightning-like tectonic shift with the sudden collapse of the Asad regime in Syria to the hands of the Suni rebels. Asad was supported by Hezbollah to the west, Iran from the east, and Russia in the north.
In the previous months, Israel succeeded in destroying much of Hezbollah's leadership and military forces, leaving them unable to keep up their support. Iran's forces have also been seriously wounded after 15 months of war against Israel. Russia has been stuck in the Ukrainian conflict.
Those three fronts left the Syrian regime extremely vulnerable. The rebels seized the opportunity with a rapid attack. With even more surprising speed, they reached all the way to Damascus, the capital of Syria and stronghold of the Asad forces. Asad fled, his army surrendered, and the rebels took over the capital within a day.
This has allowed the rebel forces to take over almost the whole country. They are led by Abu Muhammed al Juliani, one of the top former leaders of Al-Queda and ISIS. He is now faced with the sizeable challenge of stabilizing the country. He has made statements to the West of wanting to form a moderate government where all minority groups would have their freedom and security.
May that be so! However most expert analysts in the Middle East see that as a temporary tactical stage toward building a radical Islamicist Suni state. The rebel forces were supported by Erdugan of Turkey. This has given Turkey a new leverage in the dangerous chess game of power in this region.
Because of the long-standing conflict between Suni and Shiite, the path of transferring weapons from Iran through Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon has been cut off. The chaos and weakened condition of all the parties opened an opportunity for Israel to act. Within 4-5 days, the IDF secured a buffer zone along the entire border with Syria, including gaining control over Quneitra and the Syrian side of the Mt. Herman peaks.
In an extraordinary attack, Israel destroyed an estimated 80(!) percent of the entire Syrian armaments in a mere 72 hours. This included massive navy, air force, ground missiles and even their infamous chemical weapons. Russia and Iran instantly lost billions and billions of dollars of investment in Syria's military over the last 20 years.
The presence of a Islamicist military takeover is causing intense concern for non-Muslims. The entire Kurdish population (40 million!) in northeast Syria, southeast Turkey and northwest Iraq and Iran is in imminent danger. The same is true for all the Christians.
The governing council of the Druze community in Syria along the Israeli border announced a unanimous decision that they would rather be part of Israel than the upcoming rebel state. Part of their families already live in Israel just across the border from Syria. It was in their city, Majdal Shams, that 12 of their children were killed by a Hezbollah missile while they were playing a little-league soccer game.
Israel is tormented emotionally by the hostages still being held by Hamas, by the number of killed and wounded in the war, and by the family members who have been traumatized. However, we find ourselves as the only real power that has emerged after all this conflict. Hamas, Hezbollah, Asad, Yemen, and Iran have all been severely wounded. As the smoke clears, we are the only ones left standing.
The situation is so surprising, so impossible in terms of any realistic evaluation from even just a few months ago. It is nothing less than miraculous – a divine intervention of biblical dimensions.
